H.R. 9332
Load Forecasting Enhancement Act
Official summary
Written by the Congressional Research Service.
Load Forecasting Enhancement Act
This bill requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to establish regional boards to study and recommend best practices for electric load forecasting, which is the process of predicting the demand for electricity at a particular time. It also requires states to consider adopting the recommendations.
Specifically, the bill directs FERC to establish regional boards to study electric load forecasting, chair the boards, and run them jointly with each state public utility commission in the regions. The boards must (1) study issues relevant to identifying best practices for electric load forecasting that enhance the reliability and affordability of electric service to customers, and (2) identify such best practices. FERC must make recommendations to Congress for the consistent use across states of such best practices by electric utilities.
The bill also modifies provisions under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act to require state public utility commissions to consider adopting those recommendations.
It also modifies the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to make federal assistance for state energy conservation plans contingent upon the plan including procedures and programs to improve the accuracy, oversight, and transparency to stakeholders of the forecasting of electric loads by electric utilities.
Text of the bill
(a) In general
(1) Establishment. Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall establish—
(A) regions determined appropriate by the Commission for purposes of studying electric load forecasting; and
(B) a joint board for each such region.
(2) Regions. In carrying out paragraph (1), the Commission shall ensure that each State is included in a region established under such paragraph.
(b) Membership. Each joint board established under this section shall be composed of—
(1) 1 representative from each State commission in the region for which the joint board is established; and
(2) 1 member of the Commission, who shall serve as chair of the joint board.
(c) Duties. Each joint board established under this section shall—
(1) study issues relevant to identifying best practices for electric load forecasting that enhance the reliability and affordability of electric service to customers in the region for which the joint board is established, including, with respect to the region for which the joint board is established—
(A) the effects of electric load forecasting on the affordability of electric service;
(B) the reliability and resilience of electric service;
(C) the methods used for collecting and modeling data relating to electric load forecasting;
(D) the transparency of the data and methodologies used to forecast electric loads and the accuracy of such forecasts;
(E) stakeholder engagement relating to electric load forecasting;
(F) economic development projections that may affect the electric load;
(G) the best available technologies, methodologies, and procedures for forecasting electric loads; and
(H) an evaluation of requests for electric service by industrial or commercial facilities with large loads, including whether such facilities have made financial commitments to an electric utility;
(2) identify such best practices; and
(3) report on such best practices to the Commission.
(d) Report to Congress. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall publish and submit to Congress a report that includes—
(1) the best practices reported under subsection (c); and
(2) recommendations for the consistent use across States of any such best practices by electric utilities.
(e) Termination. Each joint board established under this section shall terminate on the day after the date on which the Commission submits the report under subsection (d).
(f) Definitions. In this section, the terms electric utility, State, and State commission have the meanings given such terms, respectively, in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796).